The government will provide up to 1.6 billion won in government subsidies and opportunities to enter the global market with the aim of achieving 50 "unicorn (non-listed companies with an enterprise value of more than 1 trillion won) by 2030.
On the 23rd, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups held a 'Global Unicorn Vision Declaration Ceremony' at the start-up venture campus Seoul and announced this vision. To this end, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups plans to push ahead with the 'Unicorn Bridge' project, which was newly established this year. On this day, 50 potential unicorns selected for the unicorn bridge project were also awarded selection letters. They include Autonomous AG, Law & Company, and B-My Friends.
The unicorn bridge project is a project to discover potential unicorns that have been verified for innovation and growth and foster them as unicorns with global competitiveness. Selected companies will be provided with up to 1.6 billion won in government subsidies and up to 20 billion won in special guarantees from the Korea Technology Guarantee Fund for two years. It also plans to operate a program to attract foreign investment, such as a global corporate briefing session (IR), so that selected companies can secure opportunities to attract global investment.
The 50 companies selected for the Unicorn Bridge project in 2026 attracted an average investment of 38.4 billion won from the private sector, with an enterprise value of about 180.1 billion won. The average sales were 24 billion won and the number of employees was 106. Roh Yong-seok, the first vice minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said, "In order for start-ups and venture companies to grow into unicorns, it is essential to attract global investment," adding, "We will actively support potential unicorns to leap forward with competitiveness in the global market to foster 50 global unicorns by 2030."
